Looking for a clever and adorable name for your owl, or any other bird? Why not draw inspiration from one of the owls in Harry Potter books and films? If so, you are likely a huge fan of those… However, are you truly? Here is a brief quiz on owls in the Harry Potter books; let’s see how much you really know.
HARRY POTTER’S OWL
What is the name of the first owl owned by Harry Potter?
He names his first owl Hedwig. A cool name for your bird, if you so choose.
What kind of owl is it?
Hedwig is a Snowy Owl. This species of owl inhabits arctic tundras in North America, Europe, and Asia, as well as some northern British Isles.
What makes Snowy Owls so popular is that they were the first recognizable bird species to be depicted in art anywhere in the world: long ago, when the arctic climate extended further south, they could be found as far south as southern France, where an etched drawing of two Snowy Owls and their chicks was discovered in Palaeolithic cave art in Ariège, southern France.
Is Hedwig a girl or a boy?
In the novels and the films, Hedwig is a female character, whereas in reality it is a male. Females have dark markings on their plumage, which is distinguishable by their feathers’ extra whiteness.
They are also larger and heavier (around 4 pounds for males and 4 and a half pounds for females), which would have made handling them more difficult for Daniel Radcliffe, the actor who portrays Harry Potter.
How many owls played the character of Hedwig?
In the films, seven different owls played the role of Hedwig. They are Gizmo, Kasper, Oops, Swoops, Oh Oh, Elmo, and Bandit in real life.
What is the first large item Harry receives from an owl?
His Nimbus 2000 broom is the first large package Harry receives from an owl. Bear in mind that Snowy Owls can transport up to 1 kilogram per flight. A typical corn broom weighing approximately 0.6 kilograms would not pose a problem for this species of owl. It could have actually been a shooting!
THE WEASLEY FAMILY OWL
What is the name of the owl owned by the Weasley family?
It is called Errol. acceptable for your pet owl?
What’s its main impediment?
Errol is extremely clumsy! In reality, owls cannot crash as effectively as Errol does in the movies, not even the owl that portrays Errol. Indeed, owls have hollow bones and are too fragile to impact furniture in such a manner. In order to film these scenes, filmmakers had to film a real owl flying gracefully and then use special effects to substitute a dummy owl for the crashes.
What type of owl is it?
Errol is an owl of the Great Gray variety. As measured from head to tail, the Great Grey Owl is the largest and largest species of owl in the world. However, despite being perhaps an inch or two longer than Snowy Owls, they are significantly lighter, weighing as little as half as much.
This is why Great Grey Owls have shorter wingspans: they don’t have to carry as much weight! However, they cannot carry extremely heavy objects: 3 pounds is already a significant burden for them.
RON WEASLEY’S OWL
What is Ron’s owl name?
This is a difficult name, but it’s perfect for your pet bird: it’s Pigwidgeon.
What breed of owl is it?
Well, many novices initially mistook the Pigwidgeon for a Little Owl, one of the smallest owl species in the world, due to its diminutive size. They share the same genus as Burrowing Owl and are closely related.
In mythology, the Little Owl is known for being the sacred owl of the goddess Athena, which gave rise to the scientific name Athene noctua for this species of owl. Additionally, it is depicted on coins from ancient Athens.
In reality, however, J.K. Rowling has stated that Pigwidgeon is a Eurasian or Common Scops Owl, which is even smaller than Little Owls and has ear tufts on its head: its head feathers stick up and resemble real ears! In the end, Scops Owls were not featured in the films, which dismayed many owl enthusiasts and experts.
DRACO MALFOY’S OWL
What kind of owl is it?
Draco’s owl is an Eagle Owl, a similar species to the Great Horned Owl. Eagle Owls are not native to Great Britain, where the Harry Potter movies were filmed, but several have escaped captivity, which scientists are concerned about because it could upset the natural balance of the area.
Eagle Owls are distinguished in that they perch with their two normal front toes facing forward and their “thumb” toe and back toe facing backward. Have you observed it in films?
PERCY WEASLEY’S OWL
What kind of owl is it?
Percy’s owl is a Screetch Owl, which is closely related to Scops Owls, such as the Pidwigeon. Rowling describes the departure of the Weasleys, Hermione, and Harry from the Leaky Cauldron in the fifth chapter of The Prisoner of Azkaban.
BONUS QUESTIONS
What role do owls play in the book and film adaptations of Harry Potter?
They serve as a link between the magical and mundane worlds, transporting mail and delivering packages by flying between the two.
What type of owl is most prominent in the movie’s promotional materials?
Posters, screen savers, and other forms of advertising predominantly feature Great Horned Owls.
Now, if getting an owl as a pet, keep in mind that the cages used in the movies are far too small for real owls; in fact, it would be illegal to do so in Great Britain, where the law requires all bird cages to be large enough to allow the bird to fully stretch its wings without touching anything.
To maintain it in a smaller space requires a veterinary certificate. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act prohibits the keeping of owls as pets in the United States. The only way to possess an owl in captivity is to apply for a research or educational permit, which is extremely difficult to acquire.
What do you think? Own you an owl as a pet? What species is it? What was its name? How does its cage look? We might be inspired by your story to write a new article about owls if you share it with us.